title: Cloud computing in medical imaging.
abstract: Over the past century technology has played a decisive role in defining, driving, and reinventing procedures, devices, and pharmaceuticals in healthcare. Cloud computing has been introduced only recently but is already one of the major topics of discussion in research and clinical settings. The provision of extensive, easily accessible, and reconfigurable resources such as virtual systems, platforms, and applications with low service cost has caught the attention of many researchers and clinicians. Healthcare researchers are moving their efforts to the cloud, because they need adequate resources to process, store, exchange, and use large quantities of medical data. This Vision 20/20 paper addresses major questions related to the applicability of advanced cloud computing in medical imaging. The paper also considers security and ethical issues that accompany cloud computing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Rion GR 26504, Greece. gkagad@gmail.com
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kagadis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kloukinas
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Philbin
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Papadimitroulas
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alexakos
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Visvikis
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Hendee
mesh_terms: D016494:Computer Security; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000941:ethics; D012106:Research; D012984:Software